Summertime
by MizuneMinamiki
Summary: Summertime romances…the best kind, right? Spend a whole three months with that senior boy…And once the days have flown by, one last bittersweet kiss is shared, along with promises to return, even though the both of them know it will never happen. (ReixRui) (Side-parings: PikoxIA, KuronekoxLen, YuumaxMiki, and NeroxMiku)
1. Chapter 1

**Couples: **_Rei x Rui, with a little PikoxIA, MikuxNero, MikixYuuma, MeitoxKaiko, and KuronekoxLen thrown in there. _

**WARNING:** _Rated T for a reason! You will see kissing, slight sexual hints, and a whore-Miku. _

**Thanks** **to:** _AznRinny~ Thank ya for the beta-ing!:D_

**This was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but it turned out to be like 10k+ words without even being halfway finished, so I'll just split it up into chapters. Each chapter will be a different day, but I might skip a few days in between. (If that made any sense at all...not sure how to word it.)**

* * *

_Summertime romances…the best kind, right? Spend a whole three months with that sexy senior boy, immersed in sensitive kisses and blinded by the long, passionate nights on the shore of the beach after a midnight dip, in a place where only the moon can be a witness to the sins as they unfold. And once the days have flown by, one last bittersweet kiss is shared, along with promises to return, even though the both of them know it will never happen._

_Almost like an extended one-night stand, a bunch of words and kisses exchanged that meant absolutely nothing. That's what Rui figured would happen when IA, Miki, and Miku brought some random shirtless hottie over to meet her._

* * *

"This is why I hate going to the beach."

"Why? You look gorgeous!" Miku twirled around, her twintails flowing around her stick-thin figure that was covered only in her favorite blue-and-white striped bikini. Her teal eyes sparkled as they rested on the slender frame of her dark-haired, gloomy friend, Rui, who had her arms folded across her chest to cover herself as though her swimsuit top wasn't doing a good enough job of it.

"I look like a freaking whore," Rui spat back irritably, turning around to look at herself again in the floor-length mirror. Her harsh golden eyes inspected every inch of her body, from her silky raven hair to her jet-black pedicure. Her lips curved downward in a frown as her gaze rested on her bikini bottoms, gold-and-white polka-dots with a little bow on each hip. "Screw it. I'm putting on some pants."

Miku raised one bluish-green brow and stepped aside as Rui pushed past her to head for the duffel bag sitting on her bed. "What's the big deal, anyway? Aren't you looking forward to meeting some of those hottie beach boys?"

As Rui tugged a pair of denim shorts up over her hips and fastened the shimmery belt, she grunted out, "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"So, I'm dating. I'm not dead." Miku shrugged carelessly, thus dropping the subject and switching back to focus on Rui once again. "Seriously, girl. You need to live a little. You won't be seventeen forever."

"Your point?"

An exaggerated groan passed through Miku's lips. "You're that one girl who reads and reads and reads. You never leave the house! You stay locked in your bedroom all day long, and you're perfectly fine with it!"

Rui blinked uninterestedly and cocked her head to one side. "And the problem is...?"

"That you don't know anything about being in a relationship!" Miku flung her arms into the air as though it were a big deal, though Rui could care less. In fact, Rui figured that Miku knew less than she did, since the teal-haired whore cheated on Kaito with anyone and claimed it was just a no-strings-attached kind of thing. "It's about time that you got yourself a boy, just for one summer. Come on, Rui," she whined, as she sat down on the edge of the bed and nudged the black-haired girl with a sharp elbow. "Live a little. Your mom isn't here. They won't know. And she won't find out."

Scowling, Rui stood up and crossed her arms. "I don't want to be labeled as a whore, Miku. If you and the others know, it'll spread around school somehow, and I don't want to risk my reputation."

Miku snorted. "What reputation? You don't do anything! You're like the sad little goth chick with no life. I'm gonna show you how to live." She leaped to her feet and grabbed Rui by her tiny wrist, pulling her towards the bedroom door.

**:::::**

"Don't you ever get bored of being anti-social?" Miku asked between licks of her rapidly-melting vanilla ice cream cone.

"I'm not being anti-social. I'm being smart." Rui shot her friend a challenging glare. "Do you really think it's wise of you to strike up a relationship with some random guy you just met? Like IA did over there?" She nodded almost disgustedly in the direction of the girl who spoke shyly to some scrawny boy with hair as white as snow.

"She's enjoying her life while she's young, Rui. She's just having _fun_. Do you really have something against that?"

"She's being stupid, Miku. What if he slips her something and does something horrible to her when she's defenseless?" Rui asked pointedly, shoving her hands down into the pockets of her shorts and casting all the single boys who looked at her flirtatiously a deadly stare that made them turn away.

Miku, on the other hand, embraced the attention with tempting winks as she waved one hand dismissively at Rui and rolled her eyes. "God, you worry too much. Nothing'll happen to her." She licked at her ice cream as the two started padding along the sandy shore once again.

**:::::**

"Girls!" Miki bounded up to Rui and Miku with a bright smile spread across her tanned face. She came to an abrupt halt, sending a small wave of sand up into the air, and she pushed back some of her cherry-red locks to hook them behind her ear. "IA's friend invited you guys over to meet some of his pals." She dropped her voice to a whisper and winked. "They're really hot."

Miku grinned. "Thank God. I've been so tired of keeping Miss Killjoy company over here," she muttered jokingly as she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder to indicate her black-haired friend.

Rui scowled. "Well _excuse me_ for being dragged along on a summer beach trip," she growled, but she followed Miku and Miki as they bounded up to the group of boys and girls IA had been standing with, laughing and having a good time.

IA padded over to them as they approached, her smile widening. Her sapphire eyes twinkled with joy, her cheeks tinted a light pink, though whether it was from the hot summer sun shining down on her all day or just blushing from the attention of the boy she'd been hanging out with, Rui didn't know. Said white-haired male came up behind her and rested a small hand on her shoulder, a warm, welcoming grin on his lips.

"IA's told us so much about you girls, Rui and Miku, am I right?" His dual-colored eyes rested on each of them in turn as he spoke their name in a kind-hearted feminine voice. Miku beamed and nodded, murmuring a greeting, while Rui merely grimaced and averted her gaze. He ignored her rude attitude and introduced himself. "I'm Piko! It's great to meet the both of you. And Miki, we met earlier." He nodded in her direction, and the red-head ducked her head shyly before padding off to stand beside a guy with messy pink hair.

"Likewise," Miku told him politely, and then her twinkling gaze scanned over the group of skinny, sweating teenagers, lingering on a boy several inches taller than her with golden hair. "Care to introduce us?"

"Not at all!" Piko turned around and waved a hand at a trio of blondes, two of them with a bright ocean-like eye color, and one with eyes of a red darker than Miki's. "The twins, Rin and Len, and Len's girlfriend, Neko." They all murmured their 'hello's as Piko moved on to give the names of Meito, Kaiko, Nero, and the pink-haired boy Miki was with, Yuuma. "...and Rei ran off somewhere..." he finished, glancing around the throng of people that swarmed the beach to search for his friend. "Probably to get some snow-cones. That kid and sugar...God."

Miku leaned over into Rui's ear and whispered, "See anyone you like?"

Rui scoffed. "They're all dating someone, stupid."

"Nero's not. But he's mine, so..." She trailed off, biting down on her bottom lip as she scanned over the group of people intently as though to check for someone she missed. Then, almost immediately, she perked up, patting Rui's shoulder with her hand. "Hey, who's that?"

Shaking her head and not even thinking the person Miku was talking about would be worth the effort of looking at, Rui rose to her feet and padded away from the group of laughing teens.

**:::::**

"Hey, Rui!"

She couldn't resist but to respond with an irritated, "What?" Rui dragged her uninterested gaze away from the words on her book to look over at the teal-haired girl who'd called to her, only to frown when she saw that it wasn't only Miku, IA, and Miki...they'd brought some black-haired boy with them. Rui narrowed her eyes - force of habit - and slammed the book shut, sitting up where she lay on a blanket on the back porch of the beach house Miku's rich father owned. "Who's this?"

"This..." Miku nudged the confused boy forward. "...is Rei. He's a friend of Piko's."

Rei smiled down at her, his golden eyes sparkling with some kind of excitement as she got to her feet and inspected him through critical eyes of a matching shade. His hair was black mess, a little darker than her own, and it almost reached down to his broad shoulders. He, much like every other boy she'd seen that day, was shirtless, only wearing a pair of swim trunks that hung loosely around his waist and reached down almost to his knees. And he, as well, seemed to have that same stupid smirk that every teenage boy flashed some girl he thought would be an easy target.

"Nice to meet you," he said politely, extending a hand towards Rui for her to shake.

Rui eyed him suspiciously, then shifted her attention back to her trio of friends, completely ignoring the boy's kindness. "Why?"

Miku groaned and shoved Rei aside as she forced Rui to turn around. She flung an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders and led her down the porch stairs onto the cooling sand. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Rui, you need to let loose and start up a relationship with someone, at least once before you graduate."

"You don't understand!" Rui exclaimed, forcing the teal-haired girl away from her and whirling to face her with a fire blazing in her eyes. "I don't want something bad to happen to me, Miku! Bad things happen far too often because of rushed relationships, and I'm scared to become the next victim. I'm scared, okay?"

Miku sighed sympathetically as though Rui's cracking voice and truthful words had gotten through to her. She put a hand on Rui's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile as she said, "Rui, we've got your back if something goes wrong, and we _will_ get revenge if someone dares hurt you. But nothing will go wrong, because we spent _forever_ talking to Rei and making sure that he seems like a trustworthy guy."

Rui raised a brow doubtfully.

"Trust me. He's great." Miku nodded and leaned forward slightly as though it would pressure Rui into making her final decision quicker, but it had no change on the fact that the black-haired girl was going to stare her down for many _long_ seconds, until she had weighed all the pros and cons of accepting a relationship with someone whom she'd only just met.

Then, without warning, Rui let out a heavy sigh of defeat and made her way back over to where Rei was chatting with Aria and Miki, the three of them already looking comfortable and friendly with each other. He turned around to meet her gaze, his own brightening a little when he saw her hold out her hand and introduce herself through gritted teeth.

"I'm Rui."

* * *

_**Reviews are much appreciated! Thanks to all who read this chapter! (:**_

_**(:Mizune**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks** **to:** _AznRinny for beta-ing! (:_

* * *

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Rui'll kinda be going through a difficult phase through the next couple of chapters, being indecisive and all. XD**_

* * *

"Hey! Rui, right?" Rei called as he jogged over to her. Unlike the day before when he first met Rui, he was actually wearing a shirt, though the same red-and-black swim trunks told her that he planned on losing it pretty soon. And his hair was tied neatly into a small ponytail, though his bangs were messy and fell into his big, friendly gold eyes.

"Yea." She dropped her gaze to stare at the sand beneath her feet, shifting all of her attention to focus on the way the warm saltwater lapped at the shore and dampened the sand that squished between her toes. She clasped her hands together behind her back.

"What're ya doing out here so early?" he asked. He slowed to a walk next to her, turning to give her a genuinely curious look through kind eyes.

Rui only muttered a quiet, "I could ask you the same thing."

Piecing together her attitude rather quickly, Rei sighed and scratched his head. He avoided her gaze, turning to look in the direction of the beach house where Rui was staying, courtesy of Miku's rich daddy. "You, uh...you don't like me that much, do you?"

_Of course not, because you're a clingy playboy who only wants one thing from me, that you aren't gonna get! _Rui bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying it out loud, but she managed to get out a semi-polite, "It's not you."

"Then what is it?"

Rui's fingernails dug into her hand to keep herself from snapping, because she was pretty bad about going off on people for no reason. It was hard to gain her trust and her friendship, and she didn't like that some random guy was working so hard at winning her over. "It's just that I don't _know_ you," she grumbled darkly, staring down at her bare feet with her bangs falling into her narrowed golden eyes.

"Oh." For a moment, Rui was glad that her words had shut him up, and she looked back towards the sunrise to enjoy it in peace and quiet when the idiot spoke again, a smile evident in his voice. "Well, maybe we could hang out some time! You know, get to know each other?"

"Yea...no." Rui frowned.

Rei was silent for a second, trying to figure out how to respond. He settled for a simple, "Why not?"

"Because I said so." Rui had a faint grin on her lips. Miku wasn't there; she could tell that teal-haired diva that Rei didn't like her and be done with the whole situation. Sit inside and read books until the summer ended and she could go back home to her black room with dark curtains that shielded her from all of humanity. The mere thought of it excited her; she wouldn't be tricked into a relationship she simply did not want, and Miku would just have to face the fact that Rui was un-datable because of her unattractive personality.

Without uttering another word, she turned around and stormed back towards the beach house, leaving Rei to stare after her in confusion.

::::

"You _what?!_"

Rui shrugged, fighting the urge to smirk and swallowing her laughs of joy. "I did nothing; he just doesn't like me, I guess."

"Rui, that's impossible! You're gorgeous! Any guy would want to date you!" Miku flung her arms up in exasperation before turning to Aria and Miki and waving her hands frantically for some kind of help.

Miki stood up and approached the two. "Rui, maybe building up some trust with a guy is the best thing for you. You can't go on hating them forever."

The dark-haired girl bit her lip, directing her attention to stare down at her feet. She didn't want to admit that Miki was right, that she had such a good point, but only certain girls were able to see men for who they truly were. Selfish, lying, cheating jerks who didn't give a crap about their girlfriend - or any girl, for that matter. He wouldn't even be there to help her if she needed him more than anything or anyone else in the whole world. To be perfectly frank, boys didn't care about ruining someone else's life as long as their own was still in-tact.

"I have my reasons," Rui muttered darkly, but inwardly, she knew that she couldn't hate boys forever. After all, there had to be _some _that were decent, right? Not all of them would turn a perfect life upside down without a care in the world. But finding the perfect guy would be like searching for a needle in a haystack: next to _impossible._

"Rui..." Miki sighed the girls' name as she placed a hand on Rui's shoulder. "You can't spend your whole life worrying about the past. Especially not the past of someone who's _not you_."

IA nodded. "Yea, and had something so...tragic...not happened, you wouldn't be here, Rui."

* * *

**.::Review Replies::.**

**Jessi-chan:** _...how did you find out that I totally stalk my FF reviewers to get new personality ideas? /shot. Okay, that's just creepy. No, no. I don't do that XD It was going on 10k, yup! I think it was like at 7k when I was finally like "Screw it. I'm making chapters." XD I LOVE THAT ONESHOT! Well, I have a beta-er because this going to be for a contest, but there could only be so many fics for the couple out there, and then ReixRui stories just skyrocketed in brief popularity... D: So I couldn't use it, but I kept my beta. :D (You are getting better!) If you want Rei, you can have 'im. *throws mini-Rei at you* _

**Children of Light:** _(Glad I could make Miku an undesirable chick here.) XD_

**HelloKitty55443:** _Thanks! :DDD_

* * *

**_What's up with me? ...I'm currently drawing titles of my stories from a hat to figure out which one to update next. I didn't pick this one...because I've got at least 5 chapters already written. :D _**

**_What's up with you? You know what you should do? Read +Anima. And then write some fics on it. Because I have literally read every single +Anima fic there is, and I want more._**

**_(:Mizune_**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is about where AznRinny's beta-ing wore off...because I haven't heard from her since, like...September, I think.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey."

"Rui?"

"Yea."

Rei's expression was one of confusion as the raven-haired girl took a seat next to him in the sand, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. He certainly hadn't expected her of all people to _voluntarily _hang out with him. And, even though she had joined him on her own free will, she still seemed downcast and bothered, which concerned him slightly.

"Well, uh...what're you doing here? I mean, the other day you didn't want anything to do with me." Rei didn't want to seem rude for asking, but he couldn't help that it peeked his curiosity.

"I just saw you here all alone..." She trailed off, turning to rest her cheek on her knees so she could face away from Rei. The last thing she wanted was for him to think he'd already won her friendship, when she only felt guilty for being so rude a few days before when he tried so hard to be nice. "...and I figured you could use the company."

"Oh." He could just feel the awkwardness making the air around the pair thick and unsettling. Rei fidgeted uncomfortably, and by the way her fingers twitched and tapped at her skin, he knew she was feeling the same. "Well, uh...I appreciate it," he offered with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Yea."

Despite the screaming and laughing from the other people who were enjoying the warm weather there at the beach, it seemed dead silent to Rei and Rui. Even though they could hear the whispering of their friends coming from somewhere behind them, they felt alone, as if they didn't even have each other's company. Rei felt that she still didn't like him even if she pretended she did, and Rui was far too hesitant to act natural around him, but that didn't stop her from catching his attention with a soft voice.

"I...guess we got off on the wrong foot yesterday," she whispered, though they both knew it was her own reluctance that caused it.

"Sorry," Rei murmured softly, shifting his gaze to stare at the rippling water so he could avoid her piercing golden eyes when she shot him a puzzled glance. Clearly, she wasn't expecting him to take the blame for something that was her fault.

"It's...okay?" Rui patted her legs a couple of times, trying to think of something else to say, but she stood up instead. She brushed sand off where it clung to her shorts, and she folded her arms across her chest as he looked up at her. She offered a faint and forced smile. "Guess I'll be seeing you around sometime."

Hesitantly, Rei nodded. "Sure."

She'd turned away and taken a few steps before stopping when he called her name. As Rui looked over her shoulder, she expected to see him right behind her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder, but he was still chilling in the exact same spot as earlier, head tiltd back to meet her gaze with genuinely innocent eyes.

"Piko's actually having a bonfire tonight at sundown. Maybe you could join us for a little while? We can get to know each other a bit better."

Rui shrugged. "I'll think about it."

::::

"IA! Miki! Miku! Rui!" Piko's way of greeting the four was nothing short of amusing, flicking his wrist at each of them in turn with a big, dorky smile on his girlish face. He waved one hand to beckon IA over to him as he took a seat in the warm sand between Nero and Len.

"So glad you guys could make it!" Len greeted, his friendly cerulean gaze raking over each of them as they teetered over to someone they felt comfortable being around. (And for Miku, it was obviously that golden-haired Nero guy she'd been eyeballing the past few days.) And Miki sat down with that Yuuma guy, but she didn't seem to be mooning over him like Miku was Nero.

Rui hesitantly glanced at all of the friendly faces, and for a moment she contemplated choosing to sit next to Rin and Kuroneko, but she saw Rei waving her over with an excited smile and found that she wouldn't be able to turn him down. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach - and well aware that Miku was staring her down - Rui padded over to him and sat crisscross next to him - a little bit closer than she felt comfortable with.

Miku, next to Rui, flashed the raven-haired girl a smirk and mouthed, "Now's your chance!"

Rui rolled her eyes and fixed her gaze on the hot fire they were all circling, the flickering flames making their shadows stretch and dance on the sand.

"It's great to have our newest friends join us for a little bonding by the campfire!" Piko called out, raising one hand into the air. Everyone else responded with a chorus of cheers and laughs.

"Great to know that Rinny and I aren't the only girls these pervs hang out with!" Kuroneko laughed, slinging her arm around the blonde's shoulders.

Rui forced a smile to her lips and dropped her golden eyes to stare down at her hands, clasped together while her thumbs twiddled awkwardly. The others began laughing and conversing with each other, swapping funny stories and sharing a little bit about their personal lives. And the black-haired boy next to her continued to shoot her friendly glances, and he'd flash a genuine smile whenever she looked at him. And every time, Rui would snap her gaze back toward her lap while something prickled beneath her skin. Miku, Miki, and IA tried to get Rui to join in the conversation, but the girl would only respond with a curt nod and mutter of a simple response.

When the sun finally descended from the sky and the moon took its place with a bright silver light, Piko passed drinks around the circle that all _but _Rui accepted. She shot a nervous glance over at Miku - when that girl got drunk, it was _bad _- but she was even more cautious of the boys. They were always seductive and tricky and could get their way because of their _skills_. And based on the story she'd heard from someone who'd experienced such things _firsthand_, they were even more dangerous when they drank.

That's what Rui was scared of more than anything. Being hurt by a guy that she thought was her friend.

Hesitantly tapping Miku on the shoulder, Rui leaned forward to whisper, "I'm gonna head back."

"Okey dokey!" Miku turned towards her, her cheeks painted with pink from the strength of the alcoholic drink she'd practically been chugging. She laughed loudly and swung her hand towards the black-haired girl to pat her shoulder, but she ended up swatting awkwardly at the air. "I'll s-see you w-wh-en we f-finish h-here!" she said in between hiccups and breathless laughs, before leaning back against Nero and turning back to their new friends.

As Rui rose to her feet and brushed the sand from her clothes, a chorus of goodbyes erupted from those around her, some more drunk than others. She nodded and smiled, waving to them before she turned to head for the nearby beach house, but she was stopped when she heard Rei's voice kindly offering to walk her back.

"Eh, I think I'll be fine," she told him confidently as he halted in front of her, looking down at her with a friendly grin. She waved towards the house, taking a step away from him. "I-I can see the place from here."

"Are you sure?" Rei crossed his arms as he eyed her suspiciously. "I'm really not a bad person, despite what you might think."

Rui scowled. "I'm not talking about this, Rei."

Rei heaved a sigh of defeat and raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I just want to know why you're avoiding me! I mean, am I really that unattractive?" he added, with a hint of humor in an attempt to lighten things up.

She rolled her eyes at his comment and said, "Fine. Walk me back if you want. Just stay over there." Rui flailed her arms at a spot a few feet away from her as she began to head home. She frowned heavily when he fell in step next to her, much closer than she'd initially approved, so close that his hand brushed against hers as they walked. Immediately, she drew back and crossed her arms.

"You really should try to enjoy yourself a bit more, though," Rei insisted.

"I enjoy myself plenty, thank you."

Rei raised a brow. "No, I mean...er...maybe you should try to hang outside a little bit more often. Be a little more social?" His attempts at starting up a conversation - or, rather, trying to get her to go out with him sometime - came off as pathetic and desperate, even to himself.

"Who are you, _Miku_?" Rui countered, irritated.

"Rui, maybe-"

"Seriously, what do I have to do to get you off my back?" Rui came to an abrupt halt and tapped her fingertips on her arms anxiously. Miki's words rang back in her head like a broken record - over and over and over and over again. _You can't spend your whole life worrying about the past. _Maybe accepting to hang out with this kid would get everyone to leave her alone about such things? But she just wouldn't feel comfortable with it, not after she learned the sad truth, the only reason she'd even been born.

What was better? Being comfortable or getting over your fears?

Perhaps tackling her fears head-on would be a good thing.

"You want me to hang out with you..." Rui answered her own question, and her words were more of statement, like she knew exactly what was running through his mind. His brisk nod confirmed it. Rui turned away, fixing her eyes on the ground. "I suppose...I suppose I can sometime, then," she muttered uncertainly, and quickly tacked on, "But only if there are others around."

Victory shone in Rei's golden eyes, and a smile spread across his face right away. "Really?"

Rui growled as she continued walking in the direction of the beach house at a swift pace. "Don't make me change my mind."

The black-haired boy didn't move from where he had been standing next to her moments before. Instead, he watched her leave - keeping a safe distance in case she snapped. (It wouldn't be too unexpected.) "A-Alright...Rui! I'll see you around sometime!"

She scowled as she opened the door and stepped into the house. "Whatever..."

* * *

_**This is also a chapter I wrote in advance. Sorry; I'd have updated quicker, but I'm trying to have more chapters done before I post one, you know? X3**_

* * *

**.::Review Replies::.**

**Jessi-chan:** _Pfft. I'd have mercy on Rei, if you know what I mean ;) Omg I need to stop. Piko's my man. Er...woman...? Hehehe, you and Rui just relate amazngly well, then, huh? X3_

**Children of Light:** _You're correct, sir! (I mean, m'am. X3) Yea, that would creep me out, too. XD_

**HelloKitty55443:** _Okey dokeyyy! Hope you liked it!_

**Arrow-chan3:** _Well, here's that update! Hope you enjoyed!_

* * *

**_Keep reviewing! They're motivation! Now...that reminds me that I still have about 20 updates from like a month ago that I reallyyyyy need to go read and review..._**

**_(:Mizune_**


	4. Chapter 4

_What have I gotten myself into? Why am I torturing myself like this? What's wrong with me...?_

Rui couldn't stop the panic from rising in her chest while she took the walk of shame towards Rei - okay, maybe not necessarily shame, but she hated to admit that she let her friends and their stupid ideas get the best of her. Now she was trapped into spending a little _quality time _with a boy she knew nothing about.

And only because she knew she'd feel unbearably guilty if she were to continue turning him down.

She could feel their stares on her, and she swore she could hear Miku's giggles and rants about how well things were going to work out. Sure, it had taken a day or so for Rui to work up the courage to actually leave their beach house to see Rei, but she had never been free from their stupid remarks. Every time she saw them, she got ridiculous comments from Miku, and maybe an ocassional one from Miki, but IA kept to herself.

"What would you like to do, Rui?" he asked her as she stopped next to him, eyeing him suspiciously with golden eyes.

"What, you don't have anything in mind?" she countered, a bit harsher than she'd intended. Mostly, she was just scared of what might happen if the two were to be alone. She didn't trust him, not one bit. Not even if her friends did. Boys were good at things like that, she'd been told in the past. They were geniuses at acting sincere when they didn't even care.

"Not really," Rei told her, shrugging. "I figured you might be picky about what you wanted to do, so..."

"I don't care what we do as long as there's no physical contact," Rui said firmly. She scowled. "Or getting close. Period."

Rei pushed out his bottom lip. "Guess me teaching you how to surf is out of the question, then."

Rui shot him a double take. He wanted to teach her how to surf? What, so he could practically grind against her? She chewed her lip, clenching one hand into a fist and then letting it loosen. Surfing had always looked cool to her; learning how to do it would be great.

She shook her head to herself and instead offered, "How about we just go get some snow cones?"

Rei's expression lit up immediately. "Sure! I'll pay for yours, too!" He waved his hand towards the stand off in the distance, a few umbrella tables dotting the area. "It's right down there. C'mon, Rui!"

The raven-haired girl had no choice but to nod and agree to go with him on that semi-date. However, when he held out his hand to offer for her to take it, she shoved hers into her pockets instead to avoid him.

Rei decided to at least try to start a conversation with the girl as he clasped his hands together in front of himself after her rejection. He sent her a sidelong glance. "Have you enjoyed your time here so far?"

"It's been okay," she replied softly, gaze fixed on the snow cone place ahead of them. She noticed that the line was thinning out - they wouldn't have to wait too long, which meant less time with this guy - surely a sexual predator? Why else would he be so kind - certainly not because he _meant_ it? "I'll look forward to going home, though. I miss my mom."

His lips curved into a smile. "You don't like your dad, then?" he asked her, almost teasingly.

"I don't have one." She wasted no time in giving him a reply. It was something she'd thought about often, after all. And if he understood why she didn't like boys, he might lay off. "He was a lying, cheating bastard. I'm better off not knowing him."

"Oh." Rei hesitated. "I-I'm sorry for bringing it up, then..."

"Don't be." Rui waved her hand dismissively. "I'll gladly rant all day about how the asshole ruined my life. You don't understand, Rei." She bit down on her lip and sighed. "He ruined everything for me. I might've had another opinion on stuff had things been different; but now I know what monsters men truly are, Rei. And I won't trust them easily."

Rei blinked. She was practically spilling her whole life story to him that easily? He lowered his gaze to the ground and sighed. "Well, I'm not that kind of person."

Rui puffed out air and turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at him when he turned to her with a pleading gaze. "That's what they all say, Rei. That's how they reel a girl in."

* * *

**.::Review Replies::.**

**HelloKitty55443:** _Well, the only reason I wanted one in the first place was because I was gonna enter this is a contest, but I wasn't able to. Just giving her credit for her work (: Aww, I hope you find your laptop and stuff soon! And haha, I will!_

**Jessi-chan:** _Your review was on crack, I swear. X3 I laughed way too much hahah XD Especially at that last line you wrote about Rei dying trying to "impres the female species." Oh god XD Shhh, I'm trying to make Piko cooler than I usually do. Just pretend he's awesome enough to host bonfires and stuff for the duration of this story, and he'll go back to being a Forever-Alone dork. X3_

* * *

**_Thanks for reading!_**

**_(:Mizune_**


End file.
